Conventional arrangements used by processing plants generally include many smart field devices (e.g., temperature sensors, pressure sensors, flow-rate sensors, etc.) which control and measure parameters within a process. Each such smart field device can include several function blocks. For example, the smart field device may include one or more input blocks, output blocks, and/or control blocks. Each block of the smart field device includes one or more parameters (e.g., an attribute of the block which characterizes, affects, or is otherwise related to the block). For example, parameters can describe whether the block is an input block, an output, or a control block. The parameters can also describe the maximum operating/measurement range of the block, the mode of the block, the value of the block measurement, etc. Moreover, each parameter includes one or more properties, and each property describes a portion of the information associated with the parameter. For example, these properties can describe the name of the parameter (e.g., temperature), the value (e.g., a temperature) measured by the smart field device, the units in which the measured value is expressed (e.g., degrees centigrade or degrees Fahrenheit), etc.
Moreover, Device Description Languages, Device Description Language source files, and Device Description Services have been developed to allow a user (e.g., an employee of the processing plant) to communicate with various smart field devices which are used in the process. Device Description Language is a human-readable language that provides, for example, a protocol for describing the data available from a particular smart field device, the meaning of the data retrieved from the smart field device, the format for communicating with the smart field device to obtain data, user interface information about the device (e.g., edit displays and menus), etc. Nevertheless, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that a Device Description can provide any information associated with the field device, such as any information used to implement the field device. A Device Description Language source file is a human-readable text that is generally written by developers of the smart field device. In generating the Device Description Language source file for a particular smart field device, the developer can use the Device Description Language to describe core parameter characteristics of the device. For example, different Device Description Language source files may be associated with different types of smart field devices (e.g., one Device Description Language source file may be associated with a first pressure sensor, and another Device Description Language source file can be associated with a second pressure sensor).
In the conventional arrangements, the source code of the Device Description Language source file is compiled into binary format using a tokenizer to generate a machine-readable file known as a binary coded device description file. Each binary coded Device Description file may be forwarded to a developer of a host application. Alternatively, when PROFIBUS™ protocol is used, the source code of the Device Description Language source file is forwarded to the developer of the host application. Subsequently, the developer can develop the host application, and can also sell the host application and the binary coded Device Description files and/or the source code of the Device Description Language source files to an end user. Moreover, the end user may store the binary coded Device Description files and/or the source code of the Device Description Language source files on a storage device of a host processing system, and the host processing system can decode the binary coded Device Description file and/or the source code of the Device Description Language source files using an interpreter, also known as the Device Description Service. The host processing system may then display the decoded information to the end user.
Nevertheless, in the conventional arrangements, the binary coded Device Description file and/or the source code of the Device Description Language source file associated with each type of smart field device is generally stored on the storage device of the host processing system, which may decrease an amount of memory or recordable space available to the host processing system for implementing additional applications. Moreover, the end user of the host processing system continuously downloads or installs the most recent version of the binary coded Device Description file and/or the source code of the Device Description Language source file whenever the binary coded Device Description file or the source code is modified or updated.